Karl van Gessel
Karl van Gessel (b. December 2, 2576 - d. September 24, 2650) was the first Governor-General of Greater Hullstria and the second Chairman of the Hulsterreich Sozialdemokratische Partei (later known as the New Komeito Party). He was married to Beatrix Solberg and had a son and daughter; Geoffrey and Segolene. Gessel was elected in 2647 as the first Governor-General of Greater Hulstria following several years of debate; the office was created to allow for an elected Head of State but to maintain the status of the monarchy and power of the Kaiser. He defeated Spenzer Roderick to capture the position where he would hold onto it for the next three years. Early Life Karl van Gessel was born in Kien, Hulstria to Jonathan van Gessel and Margarethe Fleetwood. His father was an owner of a small business in the region and his mother was an accountant. Van Gessel had three other siblings; Franklin, Tobias, and Beverly. He attended the public school system from start to finish and went on to attend college obtaining a degree in accounting in 2600. Accounting Career Upon obtaining his degree to become a certified public accountant, van Gessel took up a job in Kien. He worked for the same business for over thirty years, amassing a good amount of money. A few years after the formation of the Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou, van Gessel registered with them politically and moved to do accounting for their finances. Shortly before the reforms of the party, van Gessel became the candidate for the Ministry of Finance. Entrance into Politics When the reforms of the Sekkyoku Demokuratikku Rengou occurred, the party elected van Gessel as Chairman, despite his lack of political experience. Not long after this occurrence, he obtained a seat in the Diet as a replacement for the death of another SDR politician. He was then reelected in 2644. In the elections of 2647, as Chairman of his party, he was placed as the candidate for Governor-General, elected representative of the Kaiser. In the past year, the Hulsterreich Sozialdemokratische Partei had been pushing for political reforms and as a result, royalist parties created a compromise in which the people would elect a Head of State who would act as a representative for the Kaiser. The 2647 election was the first Governor-General election. Karl van Gessel placed second in the first round of the election, being beaten by two percent by the Fascist Authority Party candidate, Spenzer Roderick. In the second round of voting, van Gessel received 59% of the vote over Spenzer Roderick, who won only 40%. Van Gessel then became the first Governor-General of Greater Hulstria. During Kaiser Rudolph V's speech regarding van Gessel's victory, the Kaiser was assassinated by a person(s) who remains unknown to this day. The events that occurred at the beginning of the van Gessel Administration are considered to have led to his large defeat in the 2650 elections. Only a few months following that election, van Gessel died of natural causes. Category:Hulstrian and Gao-Soton people